But where two challenges presented themselves, in our
opinions, the profit was plentiful:

Our Dragon King, $46.80 ; Foreclosure N, $8.60.

We were second with Dynamic Youth
and third with Canadian Justice, where the top choice, Northern Miss Hall was
seventh, both defeated by a favorite.

We lost the Messenger Stakes to the division’s greatest opportunist, Bolt
The Duer. Our choice, Major Bombay was 26-1 and raced like he was 99-1. Still,
“Bolt” won off of fractions cut by Pet Rock and was an underlay for us at 2-1.
In the Lady Maude, Romantic Moment was hung out to dry and our equal choice,
Economy Terror, finished second.

Sunday at Dover the closest we came to a win, no less a strong one, was
Moonlit Dragon, who was second at 14-1 to the favorite, completing an exacta
worth $27.80. We will deal with the Matron finals and the Progress Pace in our
Thursday blog.

News And Notes

Trainer Ron Burke had a pair of pacing mares that
swept the Forest City Pace eliminations for pacing mares on Nov. 9 at Western
Fair. Both were giant favorites: Rocklamation ($3.40) and Camille ($3.80).

The $200,000 Forest City Pace Final
will go to post on Saturday, Nov. 17. The field, in post position order, is Rocklamation,
Modern Cinderella, Misty Moonstone, Tea Party Princess, Ginger And Fred, Ticket
To Rock, Camille and Waasmula. The also-eligibles, in order of preference are
Monkey On My Wheel and Swinging Beauty. We will analyze the race in our
Thursday blog.

Dover Downs opened last week and
bettors mistakenly dumped dough on the usual top drivers at the meet. Dover is
known for having heavy favorites based on drivers, moreso than a lot of tracks,
and this affords a few lesser-known drivers to win on good horses that offer
big prices. In the first week, Allen Davis was responsible for a few winners,
one that paid $53, while Carlo Poliseno drove home a $30 winner and Jason Lynch
nabbed a $35 win price. Be on the lookout for false favorites at Dover based on
the popularity of the driver more than the form of the horse.

Colonial Downs has been awarded 24 harness dates for 2013. It will begin
Sept. 18 and go through Oct. 27. Racing will take place on Wednesdays,
Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. EST. Colonial Downs is the only
one-turn mile in harness racing and the only track in Virginia that features
standardbreds.

Victor Blue was a standardbred trainer, writer and photographer. The New
York Times website paid homage to some of his work, including photos that
have been called “atmospheric and evocative.” See it by following this link

Harness horseman Mark King passed away on Oct. 25, at 53. He was from a well
known and popular Delaware harness-racing family and spent his entire life and
as an owner, trainer, driver and a track blacksmith. We knew him from his
prolific campaigns at Pocono Downs in the ‘80s and ‘90s. In 1985, at Pocono,
King set a track record when he drove five winners on one program.

Extraordinary Extras

Indulge in many standardbred topics at my Hoof Beats
blog titled Vast
Performances. Every weekend as part of that blog we we offer Balmoral
Pick-4-and-win picks at the USTA’s Strategic
Wagering Program page which includes suggested win bets.

Connect to Twitter and follow Frank and Ray Cotolo for up-to-the-minute
suggestions on wagers at many harness raceways. Then, wager from your
TwinSpires accounts.

Get onto our mailing list and receive a free copy of a
classic horseracing fiction book by clicking here.

Check out special podcasts available for beginners and
veterans of harness betting, a new series available free so you can learn more
to bet more and win more at TwinSpires. Click
here.

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Welcome to the TwinSpires Blog. Our contributors will be continually updating posts to offer commentary, insight, advice and expert opinions on horse racing and wagering. The goal is to help you win more and become a better all around horse player.

Contributors

TwinSpires' horse racing author, handicapper, and podcast host, Derek Simon of Denver, Colo. offers his insightful, humorous and sometimes controversial take on the horse racing industry. He even publishes the ROI on the picks he gives out.

The Director of Marketing for Bloodstock Research Information Services (BRIS) and a lifelong Thoroughbred racing enthusiast and astute handicapper, Ed joined Churchill Downs Inc. following nine years as a writer and editor with Thoroughbred Times.

A writer and editor who has been following horse racing for fifteen years. Peter has written books for the Daily Racing Form Press; Crown; and Simon and Schuster; among other publishers, and regular features in The Horseplayer Magazine.